It’s official.

I miss my cable television. Oh, I don’t miss the exorbitant bill, or all those channels I never watched. But I do miss NBA basketball, and now that the season has started, I wish I could flip to TNT and ESPN in the evenings for the latest updates. There’s a very real possibility that I’ll get cable in the spring, so I can watch the playoffs. I like baseball and football, but basketball has always been my favorite sport to follow, even when my team, the Celtics, fell on hard times, and the NBA’s best teams adopted a grind-it-out, low-scoring philosophy that sapped some of the joy out of the game. But I never thought the NBA was as boring as its detractors claimed, and with the rise of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and other young stars, right now the league is as fun as it’s ever been. Look for Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Al Jefferson, and Rajon Rondo to make big strides this season. Also, rookie Blake Griffin might be pretty good ... if he ever plays. The fact that he’s injured only reinforced the sense that the Clippers are a cursed organization, and that nothing ever goes right for them. There’s been some chattering about the huge impact Andrew Bynum is going to make, but I’ll believe it when I see it. Bynum’s a fine player, but every year there are these stories about what a beast he’ll be ... if only he wouldn’t hurt his knee and miss half the season.

The question that most intrigues me, of course, is whether the Celtics can win another NBA championship. Their core, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, is a bit long in the tooth, and Garnett is recovering from a knee injury. But Rondo has become a force to be reckoned with, and the additions of Rasheed Wallace, Marquis Daniels and Shelden Williams should help. Wallace’s act can grow tiresome, and he isn’t as young as he once was. But he’s generally well-behaved on teams with a strong veteran presence and the chance to vie for a championship, and I expect him to be a valuable new piece of what’s shaping up to be a pretty deep bench. This profile (click here) of Wallace by the Boston Globe’s Shira Springer gave me a deeper appreciation of what Wallace brings to a team.

So, yes, I’m excited about the Celtics. Although I was disturbed to learn that Glen “Big Baby” Davis is out after breaking his thumb in an altercation with a friend. This just isn’t the sort of news you want to hear about an important player on your favorite team. The problem isn’t so much the broken thumb as the sheer stupidity of the injury. When your livelihood depends on your hands, you shouldn’t be getting into fisticuffs with your friends. If you do, it’s probably a sign that you need to get yourself some new friends, and maybe re-evaluate your entire life. I don’t know about you, but none of my friends has ever caused me to suffer a major injury. That’s why they’re my friends — they don’t hurt me. Nope, my major injury was something I did all by myself, thank you very much. Of course, if you believe Dave Berri of The Wages of Wins, the Celtics are better off without Davis. (Click here to read his NBA predictions. He suggests that the Cavs, Magic and Celtics could all have monster seasons.)

As for the Cavaliers, I feel a little sorry for them. They need to have a really good season after their unexpected playoff loss to the Orlando Magic, and I’m not sure they will. The addition of Shaq is expected to help, but he’s old and slow, and there’s a reason Phoenix was happy to wash their hands of him. The Delonte West situation is also a problem. Not just because Delonte’s a fine player, and they’ll miss him on the court, but when one of your key guys is coping with a serious mental health issue (bipolar disorder), getting arrested on weapons charges and also dealing with accusations of domestic violence, well, that’s just the sort of thing that can turn into a major distraction. I’m a big Delonte West fan, but bipolar disorder is a serious illness, and whether you can have a long-term career in the NBA when you suffer from such a debilitating disease is a big question. In other words, Delonte might want to consider taking some time to get his life in order and restore some stability and balance to his everyday existence. His absence hurts the Cavs, but there are more important things than NBA basketball. And even though the Cavs are 0-2, it’s still too early to panic.

As for the Western Conference, yes, it annoyed me to see that the L.A. Lakers got their rings the other night. But for some reason, I don’t feel as full of hate as I usually do, maybe because in this decade the Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics have all won championships. Still, Kobe Bryant remains one of my least favorite players of all time, and if the Celtics could beat them next spring in the NBA finals, that would make me very happy. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but that’s my prediction: The Celtics will beat the Lakers en route to raising an 18th championship banner.

AS FOR BASEBALL ...

I’m interested to see how the Phillies and Yankees match up. My friend Geoff, a Phillies fan, offered a pretty convincing argument as to why the Phillies can beat the Yankees. And after watching Cliff Lee shut them down last night, I think he might have a point. Still, the Yankees are a formidable team, and I fully expect them to win tonight. But I’m picking the Phillies to win the whole thing ... in seven.

Got a Comment? E-mail me at sfoss@dailygazette.net